| 26. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with vayan {וַיַּ֣עַן | wayyaʿan} ‘and he answered’, employing the vav consecutive to introduce responsive speech. The following vayomer {וַיֹּ֖אמֶר | wayyōmer} ‘and he said’ directs the address to Balak. The interrogative particle haloʾ {הֲלֹא | hālōʾ} marks a rhetorical question, “Did I not …?” The phrase dibarti ēlekha {דִּבַּ֤רְתִּי אֵלֶיךָ | dibbartī ēleḵā} ‘I have spoken to you’ provides prior affirmation. The infinitive le-’emor {לֵאמֹר | le’ʾāmōr} ‘to say’ introduces the quotation. In the clause kol ’ăšer-yedabber Yəhôwāh ’ōṭō ’eʿəseh {כֹּל אֲשֶׁר־יְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֹתוֹ אֶעֱשֶׂה} ‘all that the LORD will speak, that I will do’, the relative pronoun ’ăšer links divine speech to human action, while ’ōṭō highlights the direct object. The fronting of kol intensifies the totality of obedience, and the parallel structure between Yahweh’s speaking and Balaam’s doing underscores the unbreakable bond between divine command and human response. |